Monday, July 16, 2012

PACT Charity Scandal : Update.

Michael Ezra, January 11th 2012.

Regular readers might recall that last year I wrote a blog posthighly critical of the payments made by the registered charity Parents & Abducted Children Together (PACT) to Lady Meyer. My main point was that when people donate money to a charity, they do so often with good intentions and with the belief that their money is to go to a worthy cause to assist the needy or those worthy of assistance. One thing that people do not expect is that their donations will be used to finance the Chanel-clad lifestyles of the so-called great and good who head up the charities. In this instance, a substantial proportion of funds raised by PACT were being paid to Lady Meyer, the wife of Sir Christopher Meyer, former British Ambassador to the United States.

I noted that Cherie Blair, wife of the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, was a patron of the charity. Following my blog post I wrote a letter to the Daily Telegraph which was fortunately published. In this letter I stated:

A list of a charity’s patrons could be deemed sufficient evidence by possible donors that the organisation is a worthy cause. It is for this reason that Mrs Blair should make a statement – not one in support of the payments made to Lady Meyer, but one criticising them.

Patrons of charities must take action at times like this, as it gives meaning to the presence of their names on the charity’s letterhead. Remaining silent is not good enough.

Without any fanfare, Cherie Blair has stepped down as a patron of the charity Pact which is presided over by Lady Meyer, the wife of Sir Christopher Meyer, formerly Our Man in Washington.

Cherie Blair has not stated exactly why she has stepped down from the charity, but the fact she has done so is a statement enough. I am sure there are plenty of other charities where the money raised is being used for good causes that would be delighted to have someone as high-profile as Cherie Blair as a patron.